Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Donation Thread

[Mad Scientist]

If you would like to donate to relief efforts in Japan here's a link to the Red Cross page dedicated to relief efforts there.

American Red Cross Responding to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami

I have two sons and an ex-wife who live there and it took my wife and I about a day and a half to contact them but thankfully they're safe. My wife also has relatives in Tokyo and Okinawa but we were able to eventually make contact them as well.

My wife reminded me that we also have friends in Sendai (Epicenter of the quake). He was attending a University near Harrisburg in PA and after he graduated he and wife moved back to Japan and bought a house in Sendai about a year ago. We haven't heard from them yet. We're praying for the best but expecting the worst.

 

[Valerie]

" In the first 24 hours, the Japanese Red Cross dispatched 62 response teams. These medical relief teams – made up of about 400 doctors, nurses and support staff – are already providing assistance in affected areas through mobile medical clinics, as well as assessing the damage and needs of the communities affected.

More than 300,000 people who were evacuated before the tsunami struck have been housed in temporary centers set up in schools and public buildings where the Red Cross has distributed upwards of 30,000 blankets so far.

The damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear power plant has resulted in serious concerns. The Japanese Red Cross Society remains prepared to support those evacuated from the exclusion zone, and continues to closely monitor the situation.

“The Japanese Red Cross has diligently trained over the past decade, and are able to put their training into practice by assisting the affected people,” said Tadateru Konoé, president of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Investments in early-warning systems and disaster preparedness and other training programs, including those from the American Red Cross following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, paid off in the Pacific Basin yesterday. Red Cross societies in Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Palau and Fiji, for example, undoubtedly saved lives by alerting and evacuating residents when the tsunami warnings sounded. "


To respond to the needs of those concerned about relatives in the affected regions International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is encouraging those living overseas to make use of its restoring family links web page: Welcome to the Family Links website of the International Committee of the Red Cross.


Those who want to help can go to American Red Cross and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. People can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

 

[California Girl]

Definitely worth doing.

 

[waltky]

Online media pitchin' in for Japan disaster relief...

Online media line up to take donations for disaster relief
Tue, Mar 15, 2011 - Technology giants Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter are all offering digital ways to donate to Japan’s recovery efforts following the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami.

Apple has set up an option on its iTunes software to allow registered users to make donations ranging from US$5 to US $200 to the US Red Cross simply by clicking a button for the chosen amount. The Red Cross has also launched a campaign on Facebook through the social media giant’s Causes function, initially aiming to raise at least US$25,000 for relief efforts. A service accepting donations via text message was also launched by the Red Cross, after a similar fundraising campaign raised over US$20 million last year for Haiti quake survivors.

Micro-blogging site Twitter was updating by the second, continually refreshing information and advice as well as directing people to resources on the ground and offering ways to donate to help survivors. “At Twitter, we feel that it is part of our duty to do whatever we can, no matter how little, to support those during times of need like this,” read the Web site’s blog. Hashtags, a label used by Twitter users to help organize messages has been created to find anything from evacuation information to medical updates.

Even gamers can do their bit. Zynga, the world’s largest social gaming company, hopes to raise US$2 million for Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake Tsunami Emergency Fund. The company is asking users to donate money through the purchase of virtual goods in CityVille, FrontierVille, FarmVille and its other games. Zynga has raised millions of dollars in recent years through similar campaigns, most notably for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Google’s Crisis Response page was also geared up to offer people a way to help survivors on the ground as well as offering resources to find information. Google’s person finder service had notched up almost 140,000 records of people leaving messages seeking information on friends and family by 5:30am GMT yesterday. The site was updating, in English and Japanese, by the hundreds every few minutes.

Source

See also:

AOL Community Gives Nearly $150K for Japan Disaster Relief
Mar 14, 2011 – When Japan was hit by the earthquake and tsunami Friday, AOL immediately posted a "Tsunami Relief: How You Can Help" link on the top of its home page and also started rotating advertisements for five nonprofits dedicated to the relief efforts, including the American Red Cross.

Since then, the AOL community already has generously donated nearly $150,000 toward disaster relief for Japan, and that number keeps climbing. members to the Japan Quake and Tsunami Relief Hub on Network for Good. The mission of Network for Good, a nonprofit in which AOL is a founding partner, is to make donating to a charity online as easy as making a purchase online.

"After seeing the news about Japan, I e-mailed Network for Good to see if they could provide us with a link to help raise funds for disaster relief," Sara Bennett, a member of AOL's Cause Marketing team, said. "They immediately set up the Japan Quake and Tsunami Relief Hub with a list of a number of nonprofits providing emergency disaster relief. In this way, they make it very easy and turnkey for users to donate."

On the relief hub for Japan on Network for Good's site, visitors can choose to donate to one of 20 worthy charities assisting in the disaster relief efforts, including not only the American Red Cross but also Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children.

If visitors to the site can't decide which of the many vetted charities to give to, they also have the option to click on "Give to All," and Network for Good will distribute their donation equally among all the organizations listed on the page. Thus far, the total from links on AOL.com and other AOL sites to Network for Good has approached $150,000, with donations averaging $77 per AOL.com donor.

Source

 

[waltky]

Japan is not Haiti...

Earthquake aid totals $23 million - far less than Haiti
March 14, 2011 -- Individuals, companies and charities have been quick to rally in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan on Friday, but donations have been slow to come.

Donations have reached nearly $23 million so far, according to an early tally by the American Red Cross and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper covering nonprofit organizations. That number is far below the first four-day totals of other recent natural disasters. More than $150 million was raised toward relief within four days of the crisis in Haiti, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, donations exceeded $108 million during the crucial first four days. "Japan is not Haiti and it's not Indonesia, it's a developed country with a GDP somewhat similar to our country. It's not what people typically think of as a country in need of wide-scale international aid," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

A heavy reliance on text donations could also be partly responsible for the low total, added Patrick Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "Giving online and text giving is good because it's fast but text giving tends to lower what people would donate," he explained. "After giving $5 or $10 dollars, you are probably less likely to go back and write a check for $50 or $100." Text donations accounted for $1.6 million of the $19 million the American Red Cross had raised as of 3 p.m. ET Monday. Save the Children raised $2.5 million in the U.S. as of early Monday. Of that, $15,000 came in via text message. Meanwhile, branches of the charity in other countries have raised $500,000 more for relief efforts in Japan.

World Vision U.S. received $848,000 as of Monday morning, of which text-message donations totaled $8,200. Mercy Corps received more than $500,000 as of Monday morning and the Salvation Army received $62,000 in cellphone donations. International Medical Corps raised $11,830 via text message, the Chronicle reported. But low donations do not necessarily set the tone of the global response, according to Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. "A lot of the nonprofits waited to see what Japan actually wanted and started their appeals later," she explained. "This slower reaction might mean that the money goes to the right places."

"As long as it's in the public eye, people will still feel compelled to give. There is still plenty of time," she added. Separately, corporations have pledged about $40 million for disaster relief in Japan, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The largest donors included Goldman Sachs and Mitsubishi, which each pledged $6.1 million; General Electric with $5 million; and Panasonic, Sony and Toyota with $3.67 million each.

Source

 

[LadyGunSlinger]

If you would like to donate to relief efforts in Japan here's a link to the Red Cross page dedicated to relief efforts there.

American Red Cross Responding to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami

I have two sons and an ex-wife who live there and it took my wife and I about a day and a half to contact them but thankfully they're safe. My wife also has relatives in Tokyo and Okinawa but we were able to eventually make contact them as well.

My wife reminded me that we also have friends in Sendai (Epicenter of the quake). He was attending a University near Harrisburg in PA and after he graduated he and wife moved back to Japan and bought a house in Sendai about a year ago. We haven't heard from them yet. We're praying for the best but expecting the worst.

Any word on your friends yet? I am so sorry. God bless the Japanese people.

 

[LAfrique]

I am still surprised the shift of Japan is not also addressed. Did you know that the 9.0 magnitude earth of Japan months ago also moved the Pacific Tectonic plate under the American plate and shifted Japan closer to the US?

I believe this shift obviously means vulnerability and instability for Japan. While I do not know yet what ought to be done, we have to do something to assist Japan and the Japanese. I am sure that Japan will now be experiencing more frequent disturbances with heightened effects.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Any word on your friends yet? I am so sorry. God bless the Japanese people.

Sorry, I just saw your post. My wife had been calling friends and family in Japan since the quake but it took us about a month to finally contact them up in Sendai. They're ok but the bad part is they had just bought a house a few months earlier and it was totally destroyed.

 

[johngray123]

I am sorry to hear about the japan case. But i observe that most of the earthquakes take place japan chin and china why so what is the reason band this.

 

[California Girl]

I am sorry to hear about the japan case. But i observe that most of the earthquakes take place japan chin and china why so what is the reason band this.

I'm sorry that your google translate is, apparently, unable to translate gibberish.

 

[johngray123]

Japan has to suffer more in this all things.

 

[Unkotare]

??????????????????????

 

[Mad Scientist]

Please, this is supposed to be a Relief Thread. Could you act immature somewhere else?

Thank you.

 

[bianco]

Japan Admits Tsunami Funds Used to Defend Whaling Fleet | Mother Jones

Japan Admits Tsunami Funds Used to Defend Whaling Fleet


Japan has admitted that some of its disaster funds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief will instead go to boost security for its so-called "scientific" whale hunts. The Japan Times reports:

#####

US$29million.

 

[Unkotare]

If not for the stupid eco-terrorists, that money might have gone to other uses.

 

[bianco]

If Japan didn't have a whaling fleet the US$29million would've gone to the victims and post tsunami reconstruction etc.

Japanese govt stands condemned.


Wonder where they wil take the US$29million from this year, in a couple of months time?
We're waiting for them, hopefully to stop them from killing any whales, and in the process sending them broke.

 

[Unkotare]

If Japan didn't have a whaling fleet the US$29million would've gone to the victims and post tsunami reconstruction etc..

It might have gone to victims if there weren't eco-terrorist idiots to defend against. Those dangerous fools are responsible.

 

[bianco]

If Japan didn't have a whaling fleet the US$29million would've gone to the victims and post tsunami reconstruction etc..

It might have gone to victims if there weren't eco-terrorist idiots to defend against. Those dangerous fools are responsible.

No whaling fleet, no anti-whaling warriors.

It's a disgrace that the Japanese govt didn't use those tens of millions for the purpose they were given.

 

[Unkotare]

Do you support all dangerous terrorists, or just these ones?

 

[bianco]

Warriors, not terrorists.
The one doing the terrorising is Japan.
You'd think it would've had more compassion for the tsunami victims than it did...US$29million would've helped a lot of its own people.
But no, Japan cared more about torturing whales to death than it did about the welfare of its own people, who were suffering horrendously.